Abstract
This paper shows the recent results of ISAS Mercury Orbiter mission study from trajectory design point of view, conducted by ISAS Mercury Exploration Working Group. Three options were studied; 1) Multiple Mercury flyby mission via Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP), 2) SEP orbiter, which uses SEP as a primary propulsion system for interplanetary transfer phase as well as Mercury orbit insertion phase and 3) Conventional bi-propellant chemical propulsion option. Detailed mission design description for SEP flyby and ballistic orbiter mission are noted in Ref.1 and Ref.2 respectively, while this paper focuses on the trajectory design strategy for the SEP orbiter (see also Ref.3 and Ref.4).
